Balakirev, Mily Alexeyevich

Russian composer Mily (or Mili) Alekseyevich Balakirev (1837-1910) was a staunch nationalist and leader of The Five, a group of like-minded composers also including César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. His passion for the folk music of his native land was translated into his own compositions and passed on to his contemporaries and to later composers, including Tchaikovsky.